JAPAN’S DISABLED SUE VS. FIRM RUNNING UNSTAFFED TRAIN STATIONS

Budget cuts and Japan's widespread labor shortage issues have led rail operators to no longer staff many less frequented train stations, causing major accessibility problems for the nation's disabled, Kyodo News Agency reported.

Harumi Yoshida is just one person who has seen his ability to travel curtailed by the lack of assistance at train stations. A resident of Oita Prefecture, southwestern Japan, Yoshida often took a train to visit a friend, but the 67-year-old wheelchair user has been unable to do so since 2015 when a local station's staff was cut entirely. To make matters worse for Yoshida, who is paralyzed and suffers from cerebral palsy, the Kyushu Railway Co.-operated station nearest his home will also soon be without staff, worsening his sense of isolation.

Alarmed at the increasing number of stations without workers in his prefecture, causing inconvenience and possible safety concerns, Yoshida and two fellow disabled people came together to file a lawsuit against Kyushu Railway at the Oita District Court in September. The plaintiffs claim the company has violated their constitutional right to freedom of movement and that the railway company has also breached a law prohibiting discrimination against the disabled, they say.

The lawsuit is the first filed by disabled people against a train operator over a decision to cut staff at stations, according to the plaintiffs. Among train stations operated by the railway company known as JR Kyushu, over 53 percent were unstaffed as of November, according to the company. The removal of employees due to labor shortages and for cost-cutting reasons has accelerated, especially in rural areas of the country, with 80 percent of Shikoku Railway Co.-run stations in western Japan and 74 percent of stations operated by Hokkaido Railway Co. in northern Japan going without, according to the railroad companies.